Dual Carriageways

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons fencing which obscures drivers' vision is being erected near traffic islands on the central reservation of dual carriagways.

Robert Goodwill: Without more site specific detail we are unable to provide more information on the reasons fencing which obscures drivers' vision is being erected near traffic islands on the central reservation of dual carriageways.
	Fencing may be erected on the Strategic Road Network for different reasons depending upon the needs of the location in question. The Highways Agency produce, maintain and apply standards and guidance for the different types of fencing used on the Strategic Road Network. These standards and site specific evaluations consider the risks and benefits before works commence.
	Local Highway Authorities may choose to adopt these standards for use on the local road network.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish an updated version of the KPMG report on High Speed Rail 2 Regional Economic Impacts to include the disbenefits identified by KPMG for those regions not served by HS2; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The analysis presented in the September 2013 report “Regional Economic Impacts of HS2” undertaken by KPMG on behalf of HS2 Ltd identified the impact on productivity for all areas across Great Britain, including those not served by HS2. The findings presented in the September 2013 report show the net impact on productivity—that is the sum of total gains in productivity minus any losses.
	Of course HS2 doesn't serve all areas and the KPMG figures reflect that. The benefits are naturally greater in the places the line serves directly. This analysis does not include the benefits of other investments to boost the transport system. This Government will invest £73 billion in the next parliament, of which £17 billion will be spent on HS2, and this will help places not being served by HS2.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of line closures on the classic rail network as a result of the construction of HS2; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd have estimated that around 386 weekend closures of parts of the existing rail network will be necessary as a result of the construction works for the full HS2 Y network (Phase 1 and Phase 2).
	HS2 Ltd have advised that the closures will be a mix of partial and full closures, although in most cases some rail services will be able to operate on the affected lines albeit with some service restrictions.
	In addition it will be necessary to utilise some midweek night time closures, although wherever possible these will combined with planned renewals activities.
	In comparison, Network Rail have estimated that around 2,790 weekend closures of parts of the rail network would be required if rail alternatives to the full HS2 Y network were adopted in its place.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from (a) the China Railway Group, (b) Birmingham City Council and (c) Birmingham Airport on investment in links to High Speed 2 infrastructure.

Robert Goodwill: Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), on 20 December 2013, seeking his support for facilitating a meeting between HS2 Ltd and CSR Corporation Limited, a Chinese rolling stock company. Sir Albert's letter refers directly to the possibility of Chinese investment in HS2, though not to any specific project or link to HS2.
	There have so far been no direct approaches from either Birmingham City airport or China Railway Group relating to investment in links to HS2 infrastructure.

Northern Rail

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress he has made on the acquisition of additional rolling stock for the Northern Rail franchise.

Stephen Hammond: We issued a Request for Proposal for additional rolling stock to benefit from the ongoing electrification programme, and this has been responded to by Northern.
	We are currently evaluating their submission.

Procurement

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the previous three financial years was (a) spent on joint procurement exercises with other departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same department group.

Stephen Hammond: The proportion of the Department's overall procurement spend for the previous financial year spent on joint procurement exercises with other Departments was 21%. The figures for the two previous financial years were not available within the time scale required to answer this question, but I will write to the hon. Lady in due course to provide this information, and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.
	While there is collaboration within the departmental group on some procurement exercise, this is not material compared to the figures above.

Railways: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that the Cumbrian Coast railway line is protected from severe storm damage;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that rail services in West Cumbria will be less affected by adverse weather conditions in future.

Stephen Hammond: Network Rail own and operate Britain's rail infrastructure. Included in their plans for Control Period 5 (2014-19) is a weather mitigation strategy, to help reduce the impact of severe weather on the network.

Parades Commission

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has made of the work of the Parades Commission.

Theresa Villiers: The Parades Commission operates independently of the Government in accordance with the Public Processions (NI) Act of 1998.
	I am certain that the new Parades Commission will tackle the difficult role which they have taken on with diligence and fortitude.

Renewable Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how much tidal generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(2)  how much offshore wind generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(3)  how much onshore wind generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(4)  how much biomass generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(5)  how much small-scale hydroelectric generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(6)  how much large-scale hydroelectric generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Gregory Barker: This information is available in DECC's quarterly publication of Energy Trends, Table 6.1, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewables-section-6-energy-trends
	This table was last published on 20 December 2013, providing renewable electricity capacity data to the end of September 2013. Data to December 2013, and for 2013 as a whole, will be available on 27 March 2014. Cumulative capacity, broken down by technology as at the end of 2011,2012 and September 2013 (Q3 2013) are given as follows:
	
		
			 Energy Trends Table 6.1 December 2013 
			 Cumulative Installed Capacity (MW) 2011 2012 Q3 2013 
			 Onshore Wind 4,638 5,893 7,120 
			 Offshore Wind 1,838 2,995 3,657 
			 Shoreline wave/tidal 3 7 7 
			 Solar photovoltaics 993 1,706 2,542 
			 Small scale Hydro 204 215 220 
			 Large scale Hydro 1,471 1,471 1,471 
			 Landfill gas 1,050 1,036 1,044 
			 Sewage sludge digestion 198 199 206 
			 Energy from waste 544 593 599 
			 Animal Biomass (non-AD) 111 111 111 
			 Anaerobic Digestion 66 110 122 
			 Plant Biomass 1,149 1,203 1,992 
			 Total 12,264 15,538 19,091 
			 Co-firing 338 204 36 
			 Note: Table ET6.1 shows total cumulative capacity, as at the end of the stated period, and will be net of any reductions in capacity (for example, the closure of Tilbury biomass station in August 2013).

Developing Countries: Equality

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to encourage the EU to further integrate gender equality into its development programmes.

Lynne Featherstone: Preliminary programming is underway for the next financing period for European Union (EU) development assistance, covering 2014-2020. My officials are working closely with counterparts in the Commission, the European External Action Service and other member states to ensure that gender equality is fully integrated in the legal regulations and operational guidelines that form the framework for EU development programmes over that period. We want to see EU development assistance geared towards empowering girls and women, to enable them to have voice, choice and control, as we are doing in our bilateral programmes. The hon. Member for Stone's Private Member's Bill, which this Government supports, aims at adding further drive and focus to HMG's strong commitment to support for girls and women as part of the UK's international development effort. If passed into law we see this as a model for others, including the EU, to step up action.

Colombia

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on procedures for scrutinising and enforcing Colombian compliance with human rights clauses in the trade agreement between the EU and Colombia.

Hugo Swire: Although no specific conversations have taken place between my the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and EU counterparts on procedures for scrutinising and enforcing Colombian compliance with human rights clauses in the trade agreement, there are regular discussions between UK, EU and European Commission officials within a number of working groups on this subject.

Ecuador

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has discussed the issue of environmental and social damage caused by Chevron-Texaco in Ecuador with his counterparts in the Ecuadorian and US governments.

Hugo Swire: This is a matter between Chevron and the Ecuadorean Government and it is for them to decide how to resolve the issue. We have not discussed with either the Ecuadorean Government or the US administration.
	The UK uses international fora to promote the highest environmental and regulatory standard for the extraction of petrochemicals, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas. We encourage state actors and private companies to adhere to these standards.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what weighting her Department's procurement procedures give to (a) the location of a company and its workforce, (b) the extent to which a company has a strong environmental record, (c) whether the company is a social enterprise and (d) other company history prior performance.

Helen Grant: Under current department procurement policies all relevant contracts are awarded to ensure it obtains the most economically advantageous tender. Within that assessment a range of criteria can be used when deciding upon bids that encompass when required different elements ranging from past performance to environmental credentials, however these will be dependent upon the services being requested.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of her Department's contracts have been let to companies with (a) one to five, (b) six to 49, (c) 50 to 250 and (d) more than 250 staff.

Helen Grant: The Department does not hold this information in the detail that the question has asked for. We can say that the core department and its associated bodies currently have 31.9% of its total procurement spend with Small and Medium sized Enterprises.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces widows who receive a pension through the 1975 Armed Forces Scheme have voluntarily surrendered their pensions on remarriage or cohabitation since the introduction of the scheme.

Anna Soubry: The number of armed forces widows who receive a pension through the Armed Forces Scheme 1975 who have had their pension suspended on remarriage or cohabitation since 2001, the earliest date for which figures are available, is 987. The provision of information for the period from 1975-2001 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	It has long been the policy of successive Governments that changes or improvement to public sector pension schemes should not be applied retrospectively. This is because legacy pension issues cannot be looked at in isolation; addressing one issue would increase the pressure to address legacy issues in all public sector pension schemes, and this would have huge financial implications.

Military Bases: North West

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether he plans to move any regimental bases to the North West;
	(2)  if he will make an assessment of the savings of relocating regiments to the North West.

Andrew Murrison: The Army Basing Plan considered a variety of options in order to deliver an appropriate geographic spread of units across the UK, following reorganisation under Army 2020. The work determined that the three main Regular Army locations in the north-west (Chester, Preston and Weeton) should be retained, and that 3 Medical Regiment would move from its current location in Catterick to Fulwood Barracks in Preston. There are currently no additional plans to move any additional Regiments to the north-west or to rationalise the estate in the north-west.
	Savings from the Army Basing Plan will be realised, over time, in three areas: firstly, the significant running cost savings associated with the withdrawal from Germany; secondly, the efficiencies gained from moving to a more regionally based Army structure within the UK; and thirdly, the disposal of surplus barracks in and around Canterbury, Shrewsbury, Edinburgh, Stirling, Ripon and Brawdy as announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), in his Army Basing Plan Statement on 5 March 2013, Official Report, columns 845-8.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what current joint activities of the Unmanned Aerial Systems Programme are carried out under the Technical Co-operation Programme.

Philip Dunne: There are three current joint activities of the Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) Programme carried out under The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP). These are:
	CAGE (Coalition Attack Guidance Experiment), which is a distributed Synthetic Environment experiment designed to understand coalition UAS command and control;
	MC-MACE (Monitoring and Controlling Multiple Assets in Complex Environment), which is a collaboration to investigate multi-UAS control; and
	Project BRISTOW, which is a trial to investigate counter UAS technologies.
	Through TTCP, the UAS programme shares information, at a Government-to- Government level, on national UAS research activities, and research plans, with a view to sharing lessons and identifying burden-sharing collaboration opportunities. The results of TTCP activities assist each participant in meeting defence requirements, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort.

Schools: Defibrillators

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2013, Official Report, column 635, what recent discussions he has had on the provision of defibrillators in schools.

David Laws: Since November 2013, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has been considering the British Heart Foundation's very helpful report which my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy), presented to him following an earlier meeting.
	At present, Government policy is that it is a matter for individual schools to decide whether to have a defibrillator and to arrange for suitable training of the school workforce in its use. The hon. Member will also wish to note, however, that we have placed an amendment in the Children and Families Bill to create a new duty on governing bodies of maintained schools (and proprietors of academies) to make arrangements to support pupils at school with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance is currently being developed in collaboration with members of the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance, schools and with parents and young people. We intend to consult on the draft guidance later this term.

Secondary Education: Hartlepool

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve transition from primary to secondary school by pupils in Hartlepool constituency; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The Government recognises that the transition from primary to secondary school is a crucial time for all pupils.
	For the past two years the Government has made up to £50 million of funding from the pupil premium available to secondary schools that choose to deliver a one or two week summer school. The purpose of the programme is to make the transition from year 6 to year 7 more successful for disadvantaged children. Over 58,000 pupils in almost 2,000 secondary schools took part during summer 2013, including 200 pupils in five Hartlepool schools. Schools in Hartlepool received £90,250 of summer school funding in 2012-13 and £106,250 in 2013-14.
	For pupils leaving primary school with weaknesses in literacy and numeracy, we are providing a catch-up premium for pupils in year 7. Schools can use this money to provide extra support to pupils who failed to reach the expected standard in primary school so that they can benefit fully from their secondary education. Hartlepool schools received a total of £95,000 from the catch-up premium in 2012-13. The allocations for 2013-14 are expected to be announced in February 2014.
	It is for individual head teachers, ideally with input from primary school teachers who understand the specific needs of individual pupils, to decide the specific transition arrangements that are appropriate for their school and their individual pupils.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what savings he expects to realise as a result of the implementation of the under-occupancy penalty in each year to 2015-16.

Esther McVey: The intention of this policy is to ensure fairer use of housing stock.
	The estimated savings in each year for the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy measure are £490 million in 2013-14, £525 million in 2014-15 and £560 million in 2015-16.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much expenditure his Department has allocated to discretionary housing payments for tenants in the social housing sector in each year to 2015-16.

Steve Webb: The Department does not hold data that distinguishes between discretionary housing payments (DHP) allocated to tenants in the private sector and those in the social sector. The total Government contribution in DHPs to local authorities from 2001-02 to 2014-15 is detailed in the table.
	DHPs are provided for local authorities to use according to their own priorities and policies. From 2011-12 the DHP amount made available has been increased to support people through the reforms to housing benefit across the private and social sectors.
	
		
			 Year of DHP allocation per annum Amount of Government contribution (£ million) 
			 2001-02 115 
			 2002-03 20 
			 2003-04 20 
			 2004-05 20 
			 2005-06 20 
			 2006-07 20 
			 2007-08 20 
			 2008-09 20 
			 2009-10 20 
			 2010-11 20 
			 2011-12 30 
			 2012-13 60 
			 2013-14 180 
			 2014-15 165 
			 1 The DHP scheme was introduced from July 2001, and so the funding for that year was threequarter of £20 million. i.e. £15 million in total. 
		
	
	As announced in the autumn statement 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 1101-1113, the Government will increase DHPs by £40 million in 2015-16. This will ensure that support available to people affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy is maintained and local authorities have the confidence to offer long term awards where appropriate.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the last three financial years was spent (a) in joint procurement exercises with other departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same department group.

Michael Penning: In the timeframe for this question, the Department has let many of its contracts via cross-Government arrangements put in place by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), formerly the Government Procurement Service. Thus the need to enter into collaborative procurement exercises with other Government Departments has been minimal. Going forward, the restructuring of the DWP's commercial function where some of our contract teams migrate directly to CCS will mean this trend will continue and is likely to increase. Those categories that remain under DWP control may be sufficiently distinct to this Department to make the need for collaboration with other Departments less likely.
	Of the contracts the Department for Work and Pensions let during the period 1 April 2010 to 13 January 2014:
	(a) four were let via collaborative exercises with other Government Departments. The proportion of the overall contracts value was less than 1%.
	(b) 48 contracts included access for organisations within the Department for Work and Pensions group. The proportion of the overall contracts value was 52%.

Universal Credit

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the impact of the freezing of the work allowance within universal credit in each of the next three financial years, allowing for inflation, on the annual real incomes of people in each income decile and classed as (a) lone parents with children, (b) single people in work, (c) couple households with children where one adult is in full-time work, (d) couple households with children where one adult is in full-time work and the other in part-time work, (e) couple households with children where both adults are in full-time work, (f) couple households with two children where both adults are in part-time work, (g) couple households without children where one adult is in full-time work, (h) couple households without children where one adult is in full-time work and the other is in part-time work, (i) couple households without children where both adults are in full-time work and (j) couple households without children where both adults are in part-time work.

Esther McVey: Once fully rolled out, 3 million households gain on average £174 per month (in 2013-14 prices) from universal credit after taking account of the work allowance freeze. Transitional protection will ensure that there will be no cash losers under universal credit, providing their circumstances remain the same.
	Impacts of the groups requested by income decile are not available due to sample size restrictions, however the following table shows the numbers of gainers by family type and employment status.
	
		
			 Million 
			  Single no children Single with children Couples no children Couples with children Total 
			 One person in work 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.8 22.0 
			 Out of work 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1 20.7 
			 Dual earners n/a n/a 1- 0.3 0.3 
			 Total 20.9 20.7 0.3 1.2 23.0 
			 1 Sample size is too small. 2 Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many software developers his Department is currently seeking to recruit for its digital service in order to build the universal credit end state system and other software projects; and what contingency plan is in place in case it is unable to fill them all.

Esther McVey: We are confident that the necessary skills and expertise will continue to be in place to deliver the UC on-line service. It has always been the intention that the Department would complete the work to develop the UC digital service, building on the work of GDS. That's why we have already strengthened in house expertise including appointing former Vodafone director of global online Kevin Cunnington to lead the development of our digital service and will be recruiting around 50 IT specialists. This has always been in the plan for completing the digital service and therefore there are no additional costs for recruitment.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason it was decided not to include an opt-out form in the Better information means better care leaflet.

Daniel Poulter: When developing plans for the 'Better information means better care' leaflet, NHS England thought that it was more appropriate for general practitioners locally, as data controllers for their practice, to determine how best to manage the opt-out arrangements for their patients.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of hours of GPs' time that will be spent talking to patients about care.data in 2014; what the total cost of such time will be; and what potential effect such time spent will have on patient waiting time.

Daniel Poulter: General practitioners (GPs), as data controllers, have legal responsibilities under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 for ensuring that patients are aware of how their information is used and shared. This is not a new requirement and does not just relate to care.data. The leaflet is not just about care.data but all uses of data for wider purposes. Making sure patients understand about how their information is used and the benefits it can bring is something we should all support.
	The Information Commissioners view is that cost of compliance is an Information Governance overhead for a GP practice, in the same way that paying an accountant is a tax/finance overhead. We are supporting GP practices in a number of ways for example, there is a patient information line which patients can call if they have questions, which will ease the burden on GP practices.

NHS: Management Consultants

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 148W, on NHS: management consultants, where records and details of consultancy contracts are held.

Daniel Poulter: NHS London strategic health authority (SHA) was abolished on 1 April 2013. Contracts which continued after this date were transferred to the organisation which became responsible for performing the function in question. Records pertaining to non-clinical contracts which terminated before 1 April 2013 are likely to have transferred to the ownership of the Department, along with other corporate records of the SHA.
	The archived corporate records of NHS London exist as over a million hard copy and electronic records. These are currently stored in off-site paper archives and on archived server software respectively, which are currently held by NHS England on behalf of the Department.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the last three financial years was spent (a) in joint procurement exercises with other departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same department group.

Daniel Poulter: A search to identify the proportional spending on joint procurement exercises both with other Departments, and across the Department and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) would incur a disproportionate cost for the Department. This level of information is not recorded separately without further analysis of financial information across the Department and NDPBs.
	The Department and its NDPBs fully participate in a number of Government wide joint procurement exercises, which are led by the Crown Commercial Service (Government Procurement Services). This work supports the development of frameworks and contracts for use by Government Departments relating to common goods and services.

Bank Services: EU Nationals

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps he proposes to take in light of the recent vote on draft EU legislation on basic bank accounts; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the EU on basic bank accounts.

Sajid Javid: The Government is committed to improving access to financial services for individuals.
	The European Commission published the proposed Payment Account Directive in May 2013. The Government is supportive of the aim of the proposed Directive. Treasury Ministers and officials have and will continue to work closely with counterparts in Europe to ensure the right outcome for the UK consumer and industry.
	There are no plans to make a further statement.

Bank Services: EU Nationals

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people from EU countries outside of the UK who have opened basic bank accounts in the UK.

Sajid Javid: The Government has made no estimate of the number of people from EU countries outside of the UK who have opened a basic bank account in the UK.

Social Security Benefits

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) Stafford and (b) the UK were claiming each of the major in-work benefits in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost of such benefits was to the Exchequer.

Nicky Morgan: The information is as follows:
	HMRC-tax credits
	The finalised annual award child and working tax credits statistics for 2011-12 are available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/fin-main-stats/cwtc-awards.xls
	Table 1.1 of this publication provides a breakdown of families and tax credit entitlement at the UK level, split by family structure and working status, for the latest year 2011-12 back to 2003-04, which was the first year of the current tax credit system.
	This table shows the amount of working tax credit entitlement linked to in-work families. A breakdown of the Exchequer cost is not available.
	The finalised annual award child and working tax credits statistics for 2011-12 split by geography are available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/fin-geog-stats/geo-analyses.xls
	Table 2 of this publication provides a breakdown of families and average annual tax credit entitlement at the local authority level, including Stafford. A breakdown of working tax credit and child tax credit entitlement is not available. Older geographic publications are available here:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121106034103/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/final-award-geog.htm
	DWP-benefits
	The information for Great Britain is in the following table. The information relating to Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.
	
		
			 Expenditure on those in work by benefit, £ million, nominal terms 
			  2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Great Britain           
			 Housing benefit - - - - - 1,667.4 2,362.4 3,215.3 3,908.4 4,410.1 
			 Council tax benefit - - - - - 210.5 311.5 437.4 510.9 564.4 
		
	
	
		
			 Statutory maternity pay 1,035.0 1,291.2 1,183.7 1,317.6 1,629.7 1,954.0 2,025.6 2,141.2 2,199.7 2,303.5 
			 Statutory sick pay 40.1 43.0 41.0 45.0 43.5 46.2 46.8 44.6 47.0 49.9 
			            
			 Stafford           
			 Housing benefit - - - - - 0.8 1.4 2.5 3.0 3.8 
			 Council tax benefit - - - - - 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.7 
		
	
	Housing and council tax benefits are available to those who are in-work or out of work. The figures provided here are for in-work only.
	Expenditure on those in work for housing benefit and council tax benefit is not available prior to 2008-09 and information is not available at local authority level for statutory maternity pay or statutory sick pay.
	The information for housing benefit and council tax benefit excludes any passported recipients and is based on a combination of quarterly statistical data and local authority subsidy returns, as outturn expenditure data is not available at this level. For 2008-09, November 2008 data has been used as this is the most representative dataset available during this period.
	The information for statutory maternity pay and statutory sick pay is based on provisional employer returns to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and is expenditure funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, some additional expenditure will be funded by the employer. These estimates may vary from the estimates published by the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) in their annual uprating report.
	Figures are consistent with autumn 2013 expenditure forecasts published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2013
	Housing benefit case load data by local authority 2008 to 2013 can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
	Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit case load data from 2010 to February 2013 can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/statistics
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit case load data prior to 2010 can be found at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107093842/http:/statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/index.php?page=hbctb_arc
	For Northern Ireland statistics go to:
	http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

Tax Allowances

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of tax relief on (a) pension contributions on the overall level of contributions and (b) income and capital gains from ISAs on the overall level of non-pension savings;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on reductions of the (a) lifetime allowance and (b) annual allowance for pension contributions on the overall level of pension saving.

David Gauke: Tax relief on pension contributions is one of the primary means by which the Government encourages people to save for their retirement. In 2011-12 an estimated £34.9 billion of tax relief was provided on contributions to approved pensions schemes:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/pension-stats/pen6.pdf
	Tax relief on income and capital gains from ISAs is forecast to be £2.85 billion in 2013-14 as shown in Table 1.5:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table1-5.pdf
	The effectiveness of these reliefs is kept under ongoing review as part of the normal policy process.
	The reductions in the lifetime allowance and the annual allowance affect only the wealthiest pension savers; 99% of pension savers make annual contributions worth less than the annual allowance of £40,000, while 98% of those approaching retirement have pension pots valued at less than the lifetime allowance of £1,250,000.
	The Tax information and Impact Note produced for Budget 2013 estimated that 140,000 individuals would be affected by the restriction of the annual allowance to £40,000. Furthermore, 360,000 people were expected to be affected by the new lower lifetime allowance of £1,250,000. Some of these individuals are expected to reduce their pension contributions, but the vast majority of pension savers will be unaffected. Further details may also be found in this document:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2013/tiin-1046.pdf

Taxation: Bingo

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if she will bring forward legislative proposals to decrease the tax on bingo to bring it in line with taxation rates applying to other gambling industries.

David Gauke: The Government keeps all taxes, including bingo duty, under review.

Administration of Justice Act 1982

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to bring into effect sections 23-25 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982.

Shailesh Vara: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), has no plans to bring sections 23-25 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 (registration of wills) into force at present. Persons in England and Wales wishing to deposit a will for safekeeping may do so with the Probate Service on payment of the appropriate fee (currently £20). Various private sector bodies, including many legal practitioners, also offer safekeeping services.

Churches: Liability

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, columns 949-50W, on chancel liability, what recent assessment he has made of the effects of chancel liability.

Shailesh Vara: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), is keeping the issues relating to chancel repair liability under review but has not made an assessment of its effect recently.

Easter

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will now bring into force the provisions contained in the Easter Act 1928.

Jennifer Willott: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), does not intend to bring the Easter Act 1928 into force in the near future. The Easter Act 1928 would set the date for Easter to fall on a Sunday between 9 and 15 April each year. The Easter Act 1928 remains on the Statute Book, but has not been brought into force. To do so would require an Order in Council, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The Act also requires that, before the Order is made, “regard shall be had to any opinion officially expressed by any Church or other Christian Body.” There is no indication that the Churches are keen to move to a date for Easter fixed in accordance with the Easter Act 1928.

Lord Heseltine Review

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress his Department has made in implementing the recommendations accepted in its response to the Heseltine Review, No Stone Unturned, published in March 2013.

Michael Fallon: The Government published its response to “No Stone Unturned” by my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Heseltine in March 2013. That response accepted in full or in part 81 out of Lord Heseltine's 89 recommendations.
	The Government continues to take forward these recommendations to ensure that we rise to the challenge to significantly advance the process of decentralisation, unleash the potential of local economies, strengthen partnerships with industry and foster economic growth.
	Central to the Government's response was the creation of the Local Growth Fund (LGF). The LGF amounts to £2 billion in 2015/16 and this includes funding from transport, skills and housing. There is an ongoing commitment that the LGF will be at least £2 billion per year for the life of the next Parliament.
	As set out in the spending round, the LGF will bring the resources under the strategic influence of local economic partnerships (LEPs) to at least £20 billion in the years to 2021. The Government will determine the future composition of the LGF at the next spending review.
	Funds will be allocated from the LGF as part of growth deals, which are being negotiated with every LEP. As part of this, LEPs were asked to develop multi year strategic economic plans for their area. The 39 LEPs shared their first drafts with Government in December 2013. LEPs have been given extra resource (up to £250,000 per LEP) to develop these strategies. BIS officials are working with LEPs on the development of the plans.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the last three financial years was spent (a) in joint procurement exercises with other departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same department group.

Jennifer Willott: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not record this information so therefore the answer cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. However, BIS does make use of cross Government framework agreements that are procured via the Government Procurement Service and which are open to all Government Departments. BIS also strongly encourages Partner Organisations to make use of cross Government Procurement frameworks.